LC Moo 2 September, 2009

I was very enthusiastic to try moo as even though I had heard of it, had never used it.

Due to other work commitments I only was able to access my emails with my user name and password, a short time before the meeting began. It took a couple of attempts for me to actually get into the program and then finding the room in which the meeting was taking place was another issue! I felt totally out of depth using this program as I had no idea what to do, how to do it, where to do, or even why I was doing it!!! When I finally found where my fellow students were at the meeting was already in progress by the time I arrived.

As the assigment was looming I figured that tonight's chat would be about the assignment. That did not happen. I guess I attribute that to my earlier point that when there is a large group of people in a chat the discussion can tend to get lost and it seems like there is no one driving it.

As one requires an invitation, user name and password to enter the site I would imagine that Moo would be fairly secure for students to use. I can imagine them finding the process engaging as they more around virtual rooms etc.

I would say my Moo experience was not something that I enjoyed, but would use it again with my students (providing I was able to broaden my knowledge of the site).

Skype Coference Call 26 August 2009

Once again, unfortunately I was not able to be part of the Skype chat due to other commitments. I have however, use Skype in the past and it has been rather successful. I have used voice and video chat as part of Skype. My computer does not seem to be able to download the transcript from the discussion (antique version computer) but from talking with other students who were able to be present at the meeting it does not seem this instance was all that successful.

The students I spoke to about the Skype conference agreed that the program does work well on a one to one basis but when a large group attempt to be part of it at the one time it is not quite as successful - this is probably due to differing bandwiths.

Generally speaking though, Skype is an excellent resource that I have used previously to communicate (rather inexpensively) with educators the other side of the globe.

Interact Tool - 19 August, 2009

After feeling totally out of the loop and unable to get the gist of what was discussed at last week's meeting I made a huge effort to make sure I was present tonight for the interact chat meeting.

I found the program itself was relatively easy to use, however, I found with so many people chatting at the one time getting the gist of the topic is somewhat difficult or even impossible! I think it is very important that when we are having an online chat such as this that we stay with the one topic until everyone else is ready to move on. While I enjoyed conversing with my fellow students, I found trying to keep up with the discussion was like unsuccessfully trying to play ping pong! While the experience was good and it was great to converse with others - I don't feel in terms of knowledge I benefitted much from the chat.

Google Chat - 12 August 2009

Unfortunately, I completely missed out on the google chat tonight due to prior commitments. Upon looking at the transcript of the chat it looks like there was an option to do a voice chat or video? On the transcript I cannot seem to follow much detail of what has been discussed. A bit confusing, must try and be part of the loop next week.

Etherpad - 5 August 2009

I had not heard of Etherpad - let alone used the program before, therefore I was very enthusiastic to give it a try. I found accepting Ken's invitation to join etherpad relatively simple (even for a novice like me). The program itself also looked easy enough to use as well. The only time I felt etherpad was a little tricky was when the red group were trying to set up their own. But that was sorted out rather quickly. I found tonight's experience interesting as I had the opportunity to "speak" to other students...share ideas and discuss what we think this course is it about.

I think etherpad would be relatively easy to use in the classroom and would definitely consider doing so.

Compare and Contrast the works of Ward Cunningham and Adam Curry

Online communities which can be defined as (Online Communities) (n.d) as “a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as the Internet, rather than face to face for social, professional, educational or other purposes.” This is fast becoming a way of life for many people. An online community can be in the form of a social networking site (such as Facebook) blogs or wikis. This paper will explore the works of Ward Cunningham who designed the first Wiki and Adam Curry who pioneered podcasting.

As previously mentioned Ward Cunningham was responsible for developing the first wiki and hypercard. Techterms (n.d) define a wiki as “a website that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors.” As pointed out by wikipedia (n.d.) Ward Cunningham is a ‘pioneer in both design patterns and extreme programming, he started programming the WikiWikiWeb in 1994 and installed it on the website of his software consultancy”.

Ward Cunningham is noted for other achievements than developing the wiki. According to Open Source Bridge, (n.d). Cunningham is also noted as the “Chief technology officer of aboutus.org Ward, a growth company hosting the communities formed by organizations and their constituents. Ward co-founded the consultancy, Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc., has served as a Director of the Eclipse Foundation, an Architect in Microsoft’s Patterns & Practices Group, the Director of R&D at Wyatt Software and as Principle Engineer in the Tektronix Computer Research Laboratory. Ward is well known for his contributions to the developing practice of object-oriented programming, the variation called Extreme Programming, and the communities supported by his WikiWikiWeb. Ward hosts the AgileManifesto.org. He is a founder of the Hillside Group and there created the Pattern Languages of Programs conferences which continue to be held all over the word.”

Another great contributor to the world of technology is Adam Curry. Adam Curry who according to Wikipedia (n.d) is often referred to as “the Podfather” not because he invented podcasts but according to Wired Magazine (n.d) “but by driving the digital consumption model into the mainstream with his program Daily Source Code” Podcasting is defined by Entrepreneur as “a pre-recorded audio program that’s posted to a website and is made available for people to download so people can listen to them on personal computers or mobile devices”.

Unlike Ward Cunningham who was the driving force behind the development of Wiki, Adam Curry did not actually develop podcasts. According to Wired Magazine (n.d) credit for actually inventing podcasts goes to David Winer. As pointed out by Wired Magazine (n.d.) “Software developer Winer helped create Really Simple Syndication (RSS) – a basic web feed simplifying the process of subscribing to websites and other online media. He used RSS to deliver his audio program, Morning Coffee Notes, just a day before Curry’s program debuted.

Again, unlike Ward Cunningham , Adam Curry enjoyed celebrity status according to Wired Magazine(n.d) as a former MTV video jockey which put him ahead in terms of popularity and Curry’s podcast proved “far more influential. Thus, in the podcast revolution, Curry played the role of pioneer for Winer’s invention” ms. Mobiles magazine (n.d) further concludes that even though Curry did not actually develop the podcast he “…was the first that had written a program that used RSS enclosures format, and who later on was propagating Podcasting with his own podcasts, websites and other means”.

Similarly, to Ward Cunningham, Adam Curry has made other contributions to the world of technology other than podcasting. According to Adam Curry (n.d) “Since the early 1990’s Curry has been involved in web technology and media, first as a founder of a design and hosting company, then as an executive with a marketing and communication agency and now as a high profile personality in the development of podcasting. The contributions made by both these men have had a profound effect on technology as it has enabled people from all walks of life and areas of the globe to be connected by these revolving communications.

REFERENCES
Adam Curry (n.d.) Retreived 8 September, 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/adam-curry-tv-personality-internet-celebrity

Ms.Mobiles Magazine (n.d) Biography Adam Curry Retrieved 9 September, 2009 from http://msmobiles.com/catalog/i.php/558.html

Online and Virtual Communities (n.d.) Retrieved 7 September, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community

Open Source Bridge (n.d.) Ward Cunningham. Retrieved 7 September, 2009 from
http://opensourcebridge.org/users/336

Technical Terms (n.d.) Retrieved 7 September, 2009 from http://www.techterms.com/definition/wiki

Wired Magazine (n.d.) Podfather: Adam Curry Launches Daily Source Code, Retrieved 9 September, 2009 from
http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/tag/adam-curry/

Topic 5 - Exercise 5.2

This exercise required a table to show the results. After asking other forum members how to make a table using blogger (cut and paste didn't work), trying to upload images, saving files as various other extensions and trying numerous other ways to get a table onto my blog - I was left with two choices throw the computer out the window or present the information as follows: -
Not being able to easily make tables in blogger is definitely a downfall.

Online Community: Photo Shuffle

Objectives: To locate intricate details in pictures loaded by other members.

Rules of Engagement: Very engaging game. Must successfully place the yellow circle over the detail to win full points. Members can still achieve some points if they are close to the target.

Unique Features:
Easily upload own photos.
Leave comments for other members.
Can choose difficulty rating.


Online Community: Whyville

Objectives: A virtual town where members can build their own avatar, chat with other members and play games.


Rules Of Engagement: A wide variety of activities to stimulate children of all ages. You need to earn points (or a chat licence) before you can participate in that.
Many different games to choose from. Create your own avatar.
Chat with other members.

Unique Features: Many different games to choose from. Create your own avatar.
Chat with other members.

Amy Jo Kingis behind the organisation and management of photoshuffe. Kim is an internationally recognised social architect who has been involved in various social architecture projects.